The Springbok Sevens lost two of their three fixtures on the second day of the Tokyo Sevens, which ended with a 14-10 Plate final defeat to Fiji.

It was a tight match in the first half as South Africa trailed the Pacific Islanders 7-5 at the break. Branco du Preez’s try made it a two-point game as Waisea Nayacalevu scored earlier in the stanza.

The Blitzboks suffered a big blow when Cornal Hendricks was yellow carded, and Fiji capitalised on their one-man advantage to claim a converted try through Nikola Matawalu. Chris Dry’s score late in the game created an exciting finish, but Fiji managed to hold on for the win and the Plate title.

Meanwhile, Australia won their first tournament as they downed Samoa 28-26 in the Cup final, while New Zealand beat England 24-17 in the third/fourth-place play-off.

Earlier on day two, Paul Treu’s men picked up a comfortable win over Wales in the Plate semi-finals as they never relinquished the lead in the contest. Skipper Kyle Brown and Stephan Dippenaar were on hand to give South Africa a 12-5 half-time advantage. Dippenaar completed his brace in the second stanza, while Cornal Hendricks also dotted down to seal the win.

In the Cup quarter-finals, the Blitzboks conceded a last-minute try as England picked up a 21-17 triumph.

South Africa led 12-7 at the break as Brown and Dippenaar crossed the chalk. William Small-Smith then extended that lead to 10 points after scoring early in the second half. However, Dan Norton and Bishops old boy Mat Turner dotted down late in the game to steal the win for England.